Dreadfully Boring

Absolutely amazing

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

An absolutely hilarious comedy/kung fu outing for Jackie Chan and Lo Wei which has one of the most bizarre premises I've seen in a Hong Kong movie (and there are a lot, trust me). The story goes that a sacred book containing instructions for the deadly Seven Fist technique is stolen from the Shaolin Temple by bad guys and used to train a new super fighter. Years later, a meteorite (a sparkler on a wire) hits the Temple and unearths a long-lost book containing the art of the Five Fist technique, the only technique powerful enough to beat the Seven Fist fighter. The book is found by a lowly student (played, of course, by Jackie Chan), who learns the arts and finally takes on all of the bad guys come the finale.Sounds straightforward enough, doesn't it? Well if you thought so, you'd be right. The plot has been done a million times in countless kung fu films and aside from the cheesy dubbing – always amusing, especially when solemn Shaolin monks are concerned – the plot is pretty forgettable stuff. Things benefit hugely from Chan's starring role and there are some fantastic fight scenes in the film, especially towards the end when all hell breaks loose. In fact the film gets more violent and brutal as it progresses, ending in a massive bloody battle, excellent filmed by the innovative Lo Wei who often breaks the fourth wall by having Chan and co. punching and kicking into the camera.But where the film really hits the mark is in the comedy antics of the five ghosts who help train Chan up on his new style. The ghosts are simply a bunch of guys (one of them apparently played by Yuen Biao) in white face paint and sparkly skirts (not forgetting the red clown wigs) who play around like kids and do stupid stuff. If you're a fan of lowbrow Chinese humour then you'll have a field day with the antics that Chan and his ghostly companions get up to – my favourite scenes are the "I'm not queer!" trouser-pulling and the side-splitting moment where Jackie urinates on the (miniature) ghosts. It certainly wins points for originality in any case. Despite the ultra-cheap budget, pitiful effects work and predictable narrative, KARATE GHOSTBUSTER is a whole heap of fun and provides some of the best laughs I've had in ages. Forget those insipid teen comedies, this is the real deal.

I picked this film up on DVD for a couple of bucks at Wal-Mart, so I wasn't really expecting a great film. Spiritual Kung Fu met these expectations. Bad dubbing, bad special effects, and the goofy clown/mime/rag doll/ghosts detracted from the film.What made the film bearable was the good kung fu and the casting of James Tien as the bad guy. There's also a twist at the end that is only hinted at once during the film, so it comes as quite a surprise.If you want a great film to make you think, watch something else. If you want a goofy chopsocky Jackie Chan movie to waste a couple of hours, (and have no deep-seated fear of clowns) check Spiritual Kung Fu out.Lex

I bought this movie for 88 cents Canadian, which is insanely cheap. It was definitely worth the money and then a little more. This movie is quite funny at times. Occasionally it's funny on purpose and occasionally it's funny by accident. The plot is just an excuse for Jackie Chan to learn the five fists technique for the inevitable show down with the seemingly invincible 7 fist technique villain who wants to become clan leader. Most of the action for the first 40 minutes or so is non-existent. Instead, we're left with bits of physical comedy, including a rather long scene when Jackie first meats the ghosts. Most of that scene is actually funny in a really goofy, weird, stupid kind of way. Once that scene is done with we're left with some above average fight scenes.Chan has two fight scenes with the daughter of the leader of the Wu Tang clan and they're both entertaining due in part to the ridiculous dialog's. We also got to see some mildly entertaining scenes with the villain beating up other clan leaders. The real keeper here and what pretty much made this movie worth the 88 cents alone is when Jackie fights a whole load of shaolin monks at once. He begins fighting with a staff and then eventually tonfa's (I think that's what they're called). This whole scene is quite long and just keeps getting better; really great stuff. Jackie then has two fight scenes at the end. One is with the villain and it is well done due to the five different animal styles Chan amusingly implements. The other is with the Villain's father, which is mostly devoid of Kung Fu and starts with the physical comedy again.I should also mention the awful dubbing and really weird synth music that sounds like a mix between 70's porno, traditional Chinese, and 80's sci-fi synth. If those ballerina ghosts weren't weird enough the music certainly was. The special effects are also awful. Someone already mentioned the fire cracker on the stick. Honestly, what can you expect? It was laughable and it actually made the movie more enjoyable. I laughed the most at the fire cracker and you probably will too. The plot is run of the mill and is just an excuse for fights.Lastly I'll mention that the version I have is kind of weird in that half the time it appears that the top and side portions of the film are missing. I say that because routinely stuff was happening in the scene just off to the side that I should have been able to see and you really notice it during the fights where one guy is half off-camera and half on-camera. I don't think that was done on purpose. The quality of the video is awful too, but that's to be expected... however, the sound effects are better than most during this time period.All in all if you can find this for as cheap as I did, or perhaps for a little more it's definitely worth owning if you're a Jackie Chan or a Kung Fu fan in general. There are 4 quality fights (for the time/budget) and depending on what kind of sense of humor you have, you'll probably find the movie reasonable funny as well.

This movie (which really should have "Spiritual Kung Fu" listed as an alternate title) may be mostly for those who specifically like kung fu movies, but if you're one of those then this is a classic. While it forebodes the comedic action of later Chan movies, it is actually much more serious, and Jackie's part may be the biggest part, but it is almost matched by several other characters, so the emphasis doesn't lie so squarely on the lead character as it usually does in Chan's movies.If you're a kung fu movie fan, don't listen to the negative comments posted here. This is one cool movie with lots of cool weirdness, and definitely some very cool fights. At one point, Jackie, who's still considered a novice, has to fight the 18 top students, and he licks every one of them in a long and impressive fight scene. This movie is definitely worth your while.My rating: 8 out of 10.